Regeneration and economic growth

Management of the 2007-13 ERDF programmes

The Department for Communities and Local Government is the designated Managing Authority for all European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) structural fund programmes in England.

The Managing Authority is the body designated by the European Union Member State that will ensure Structural Fund programmes are implemented and that their activity conforms with European Commission Regulations. The Department provides the framework for how ERDF programmes should be delivered, reporting to ministers and the European Commission. Within the Department, the ERDF Programme, Strategy and Coordination team oversees the management of ERDF and the local ERDF Programme Teams.

The Certifying and Audit Authorities are also part of the Department and help to ensure that European Commission regulations are adhered to.

Regional Development Agencies had previously been responsible for delivering the English ERDF programmes on the ground, but following the abolition of the Regional Development Agencies, we are retaining the existing ERDF teams under the responsibility of the Department for Communities and Local Government. This will provide Government with a greater level of operational scrutiny, mitigating the risk of financial corrections imposed by the European Commission, while retaining the local expertise and experience of the existing teams. The London programme will be managed by the Greater London Authority. 

Local Management Committees

Although the structure and management arrangements vary in detail, each region has a Local Management Committee (LMC) and a secretariat to oversee ERDF investment, guide the programme, and assess progress.

The management committees are chaired by the Department for Communities and Local Government's Directors - and in the case of London, the Mayor. The committees draw their membership from government departments and a wide range and local partners. These usually include:

  • local authorities
  • higher and further education institutions
  • environmental bodies
  • the voluntary and private sectors
  • members of the business community.

The local secretariats provide administrative support to the management committees and assess all grant applications.

ERDF priority objectives

Under the 2007-13 programming period, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is allocated according to three priority objectives:

Regional Competitiveness and Employment objective

The Regional Competitiveness and Employment programme applies to the nine English regions and is aimed at strengthening their competitiveness and attractiveness.

Further information on Regional Competitiveness and Employment is available from 'In this section' at the bottom of the page.

Convergence objective

The Convergence programme aims to improve the conditions for growth and development in the least-developed regions where the economy is still lagging behind the rest of the European Union. In order to qualify for Convergence funding, a region must have a Gross Domestic Product below 75 per cent of the European Union average. In England, only Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly were awarded Convergence status.

Further information on the Convergence objective is available from 'in this section' at the bottom of the page.

European Territorial Cooperation programmes

ERDF funding is available to support nine European Territorial Cooperation programmes. These encourage cross-border, trans-national and inter-regional cooperation and harmonious and balanced development of the European territory.

More details about the individual programmes can be found via the links on the European Territorial Cooperation page.

Financial engineering instruments

ERDF is also used to support a range of financial engineering instruments. The common aim is to stimulate economic growth by supporting innovative business activity and entrepreneurship. This generally involves funding being invested as capital via projects designed to improve access to commercial finance for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. The financial engineering instruments which those projects can embrace are venture capital funds, loan funds (including micro loan funds), community finance development institutions and guarantee funds - collectively known as venture capital loan funds.

The access to finance priorities of the 2007-13 UK programmes permit new venture capital loan funds to be established either as bespoke initiatives or under the umbrella of the Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises (JEREMIE) or Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas (JESSICA) initiatives. In addition, venture capital loan fund-type Urban Development Funds will be able to be capitalised either directly or under JEREMIE or JESSICA.

Each programme has developed its unique financial engineering model(s) taking account of local factors to meet the specific economic and strategic needs of the programme area.

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